Domestic Violence Victoria chief executive Fiona McCormack said the threat of longer penalties and a greater police focus on family violence had failed, with many perpetrators left unmonitored in the community.

She said it was archaic to expect intervention violence orders and men's behaviour-change programs would be enough to reduce violence. ''It doesn't go close enough to what's required,'' she said. ''The proof is in the fact that we had 29 family violence-related deaths in Victoria last year and the numbers are piling up again this year.''

Domestic Violence Victoria has written to the Napthine government asking it to fund family violence training and risk assessment panels - police and child protection professionals meeting regularly about high-risk cases - in the May budget. Ms McCormack said it would cost about $16 million.

She said parole officers, mental health workers and others in related fields needed to learn how to intervene to ensure perpetrators did not reoffend.

''While we don't have this, these men are going under the radar,'' she said.

Federation of Community Legal Centres senior policy adviser Chris Atmore agreed.

She said doctors, court staff and lawyers should be able to manage the risks of an attack when a victim and offender came into contact, whether in a hospital, court or elsewhere. She said only a few well-resourced courts, such as Ringwood Magistrates Court, had a ''protected person space'' - a segregated safe area - where people applying for intervention orders could wait in safety.

''Safety and security at court is a real issue across the state, particularly in some smaller rural areas,'' Dr Atmore said. ''Often courts are forced to come up with ad hoc solutions. They have security, but there is only so much they can do.''

Premier Denis Napthine said the government would examine Domestic Violence Victoria's submission. He said the government had increased family violence funding to a record level.

''Across the state we have significant increases in reporting of domestic violence and police and all of the other agencies are very aware of the need to deal with domestic violence in a sensitive but an appropriate manner,'' he said.